New Findings Show Cannabis Consumers Tend To Be Wealthier, More Educated And Happier

A new study suggests cannabis consumers tend to enjoy higher incomes, higher rates of volunteering, greater enthusiasm for spending time outdoors and more satisfaction with life in general.

These findings anchor the first installment of Cannabis Wellness Trends, a periodic and detailed look at cannabis consumers in legal states including California and Colorado by data firmBDS Analytics. A second installment of the study will look at trends in Washington and Oregon, along with other states.

The reports are based on the ‘BDS Analytics Consumer Trends Survey’, conducted online among 2,000 California and Colorado adults ages 21 years and older with a quota of 1,200 past-six-month marijuana consumers.

“The theme of overall well-adjustedness among cannabis users serves as a common theme among much of the ongoing research,” reads a BDS Analytics press release.

“One theme that clearly emerges from the research is the overall healthy well-being of cannabis consumers... when compared to ‘acceptors’ (people who do not consume cannabis but might consider it) and ‘rejecters’ (people who do not consume cannabis and would not consider it).”

The study found that the average annual household income among California cannabis consumers is $93,800, compared to $72,800 for ‘acceptors’ and $75,900 for ‘rejecters.’ The percentage of people with master’s degrees among California consumers is 20 percent, compared to 13 percent of ‘acceptors’ and 12 percent of ‘rejecters.’

When it comes to being active, consumers in both Colorado and California say they enjoy outdoor recreation at a higher rate - 50 percent for Colorado consumers compared to 36 percent for Colorado ‘rejecters’, and 57 percent for California consumers compared to 26 percent for California ‘rejecters.’

In terms of giving back to their communities, 38 percent of California consumers say they volunteer their time to help others, compared to 25 percent of ‘rejecters.’

“Cannabis consumers are far removed from the caricatures historically used to describe them,” said Linda Gilbert, head of the consumer research division at BDS Analytics. “In fact, positive lifestyle indicators like volunteering, socializing, satisfaction with life and enjoyment of exercise and the outdoors are highest among cannabis consumers, at least in Colorado and California.”

If you could only consume one, would you consume cannabis instead of alcohol?